


A So-called Official Visit (and An Invitation to Dinner)

by Lily Catts (Borjarnon)



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Fluff, Gen, Help I Accidentally Made an OC, Ishgard Restoration (Final Fantasy XIV), MasterChef Eorzea, Patch 5.2: Echoes of a Fallen Star Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Borjarnon/pseuds/Lily%20Catts
Summary: The Warrior of Light wants to stay in Diadem all day, but Aymeric has other plans.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 20





	A So-called Official Visit (and An Invitation to Dinner)

**Author's Note:**

> Lily Catts is my Warrior of Light.

Lily hung up her tools and found a rock to sit on. She was all alone in a floating island, a small part of the region known as Diadem. As the Restoration of the Firmament in Ishgard was in full swing, the adventurers flocked to Diadem to procure much-needed materials for the labour force. She found herself in the vanguard of gatherers, amassing raw materials to be appraised and approved back in the Firmament office. 

She had gotten a plethora of such items, and there were still some hours left before she turned her attention to other affairs. Time had not stopped in The Source and The First, and she would be needed elsewhere, but to her these quiet moments of hard labour were just as vital.

"I hope I'll be remembered as a woman of peace," Lily whispered to herself. Faces of departed friends flashed into her mind. A monster in the shape of a man once told her that they were alike. She would spend her life proving him wrong.

A manacutter zipped past her island, circled back and landed a dozen yalms before of her. Lily hastily dried herself with a towel. Were they foes? Friends? She picked a Soul Crystal in her pocket, her fingers intimately familiar with the shape of each one.

Lord Speaker Aymeric de Borel stepped out of the manacutter as Lucia goe Junius shut the engine down. "Lily, I did not expect to see you here," he said, a pair of goggles hanging around his neck. Lucia grimaced behind him.

"What brings the Lord Speaker here?" Lily asked. Aymeric was not the most direct of people, and she had learned quickly in her adventuring career to match the other party's style of communication.

"I have been conducting an inspection of the Restoration efforts. Diadem is an important area of interest to Ishgard, and I am pleased to see our gatherers thriving." He made a perfect lordly bow. "When I passed by this island, I thought I glimpsed you, and circled back to investigate."

"I'm afraid I'm severely under-dressed and inadequately groomed." Lily wiped away her remaining sweat. She hoped she did not stink of hard labour, as Aymeric often employed perfumes to punctuate his impeccable sense of style.

"It is no matter," Aymeric said, his face an odd mask of glee.

"Lord Speaker, your manner of gaze towards the Warrior of Light is most... unbecoming," Lucia said. She was dressed in a pilot's garb, forgoing Ishgardian mythril for comfortable leather. "Well met, Lily."

"Your piloting skills are superb," Lily said, "and your look suits you."

Lucia smiled warmly. "I hope we did not find you at a disadvantage."

"I am all right. With that tight maneuver, I thought you wanted to take me out." She discreetly revealed her machinist Soul Crystal in her hand, and slid it back into her pocket.

"Then we are indeed fortunate that Lily did not blast us out of the sky," Aymeric said. "If anything, I would be to blame for the misunderstanding. I hastily ordered Lucia to land so that I could speak with you."

"Speak with me?" Lily tilted her head.

Lucia whispered a few words to Aymeric and returned to the manacutter. Aymeric nodded, and stepped forward. "I've been wanting to catch you again, since the first phase of the Restoration. I merely wanted to extend my appreciation to your efforts. Your participation has become a force multiplier in attracting more adventurers to help us."

"I simply have a debt that cannot be repaid. Ishgard will always be a home to me."

"Have you not considered Ishgard to be ou- _your_ home?"

_Did he misspeak?_ Lily thought. "Though I am a ward of House Fortemps, I do not wish to impose on them--if possible, I would like my own house... though we both know that my duties take me everywhere."

"Why, yes." The colour returned to Aymeric's face. "I have heard of your voyage to the Crystal Tower, and to the world called The First. Would you tell me about it?"

Lily smiled. "Where should I start?"

\---

"So this Emet-Selch, this Ascian... he used to be the Emperor Solus? That to me is a massive revelation."

"I am only mortal, and I cannot comprehend the lifetimes he wore throughout the eras. He was so very sure of himself, annoyingly so, but somehow I felt that he secretly wanted to be proven wrong. By us."

Aymeric's mind was still reeling, and he was staring at the orange sky. The sun had begun to set, and Lucia was patiently seated in her cockpit the whole time, stealing glances at the two. Thirty-seven times, Lily counted.

"I think that everyone considers themselves the hero of their own story. No one wants to admit that they're the villain, but too often we play the villain in someone else's narrative. The reason I wanted to help in the Restoration was to remind myself that we could do so much more together, than against each other.

"If only he could have seen this," Lily said. "Then maybe we didn't have to fight."

Aymeric smiled warmly. "I never doubted your wisdom, but it has grown leaps and bounds during your time in The First."

"And that time is not yet over, as I have to tie up loose ends and bring the Scions home."

"It is getting late, and I had best return to Ishgard," Aymeric said, watching Lucia jump off the manacutter and stalk towards them. "By any chance, do you have plans for dinner?"

"I..." Lily looked at Lucia, who was shaking her head.

"He is planning to cook for you, as a showcase of his culinary skills. He made me assist in marinating the meat earlier before we set out to look for you."

"Lucia!" The look on Aymeric's face told Lily all she needed to know. "I am merely planning a humble, intimate meal with friends."

Lily closed her eyes and smiled wryly. "If you made all this effort just to invite me to dinner, how could I refuse? It would be a shame to have wasted all that manacutter fuel for nothing."

"The manacutter is property of the state. We merely loaned it," Lucia added.

"Then I do not want to be the reason the Lord Speaker got into trouble for wasting public funds," Lily said. "I shall ride back with you."

"It gladdens my heart that you accept, Lily," Aymeric said. "I have been reading a book of Rameses cen Gordun's recipes."

"The Garlean chef?" Lily blinked. There had been rumours that a clandestine shipment of his recipe books found its way to Eorzea despite the war, but she did not expect the Lord Speaker of Ishgard to possess a copy.

"If you help me cook, then I shall freely share the recipes with you," Aymeric said.

Lucia sighed at the two souls smiling at each other.

\---

In the Regalia, Lily caught a view of the sunset from her rear-view mirror. The Garlond Ironworks replica admirably carried all her Diadem spoils in the trunk without any noticeable power loss. Not bad for one of her precious few days of peace.

In front, she could see the activity in the Firmament as the city loomed into view. It was tempting indeed to throw herself back into the front lines, but even the Warrior of Light needed to rest.

Tonight, she would dine in the presence of friends. For tomorrow and tomorrow, she would face them as she had always done: never alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I commissioned my artist friend puchinoko to draw Lily, which served as inspiration while writing this piece: https://twitter.com/puchinoko_/status/1242658340963930113
> 
> Do check her out!


End file.
